Md Saiful Islam, Managing Director (MD) of BOESL. Photo: BSS

By Mushtaq Ahmed

DHAKA, Feb 8, 2026 (BSS) - About 30,000 Bangladeshi women are working in the garment sector in Jordan and efforts are being made to increase this number. 

Md Saiful Islam, Managing Director (MD) of Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Limited (BOESL) shared the plan in an interview with BSS on Sunday.

Stating that employment abroad is being ensured through BOESL at a low cost, ethical and safe manner, he said when workers go abroad through BOESL, there is no opportunity for any middleman and the government takes direct responsibility for protecting the rights of the migrant workers.

Saiful Islam said BOESL is a 100 percent government institution, while thousands of workers go abroad through it every year. 

"Usually, workers go abroad in two ways - sometimes the employer bears the entire cost, and sometimes the employees have to bear a partial cost. However, in all cases, the cost is relatively low and the process is completely transparent and ethical," he said.

He said currently, migrant workers are being sent to various countries, including Brunei, Jordan, South Korea, Malaysia, and Russia through BOESL. In addition, the search for new labour markets is also ongoing, he added.

The BOESL managing director said, "We try to ensure that no worker faces harassment or complications before leaving the country. They are also kept in touch even after going abroad".

He said an important responsibility of BOESL is to ensure that employers are actually fulfilling the conditions and facilities promised to them by hiring workers. 

For this reason, he said, BOESL officials go on-site inspections. In addition, officials of the Bangladesh High Commission and mission in the relevant countries also monitor the matter, he said, adding that in case of any breach of promise, initiatives are taken to resolve the matter by contacting the concerned employer.

About his recent foreign trips, Saiful Islam said he recently visited Jordan and Malaysia where he saw firsthand how Bangladeshi workers are doing, whether the conditions under which they were hired are being met. "Workers who go through BOESL are never left alone; we always keep in touch with them."

Regarding the new labour market, he said the process of sending workers to Iraq through BOESL has begun. 

Currently, about 60 workers are going there and besides, initiatives have been taken to send nurses to Kuwait, he said. 

Initially, Saiful Islam said, 15 nurses will go to Kuwait this month and there are plans to send about 90 nurses in phases. "The salary of these nurses will be more than one lakh taka and the daily working hours will be eight hours. They will work in various hospitals under the health sector of Kuwait," he said.

The BOESL chief said all notifications and information about going abroad through BOESL are published on the company's own website, urging interested candidates to follow the website regularly.

"I firmly do believe that if our skilled workers go abroad through BOESL, they will get the benefit of safe migration. There will be no opportunity for any brokers or middlemen. In this way, we want to ensure normal and safe labour migration in the country," he said.